Convicted rapist Pelicot seeks publisher for books written behind bars

A court sketch created on 17 September 2024, shows defendant Dominique Pelicot during his trial in which he was accused – and subsequently convicted – of drugging his wife so that he and scores of strangers could rape her at their home in Mazan, in the south of France. © Benoit Peyrucq / AFP

The jailed Frenchman at the centre of a notorious rape case is now seeking a publisher for the books and poems he has written from prison.

Dominique Pelicot – convicted of orchestrating the rape and abuse of his then-wife by dozens of strangers – is now seeking a publisher for the writings he produced while behind bars.

Pelicot, now 73, was sentenced to 20 years in prison after admitting he drugged his former wife, Gisele Pelicot, with sedatives and invited men to assault her repeatedly over nearly a decade.

The case, which involved 50 co-defendants and stretched across years of investigation, sent shockwaves across France and beyond.

French woman Gisele Pelicot, the victim of a mass rape orchestrated by her then-husband Dominique Pelicot at their home in the southern French town of Mazan, arrives with her lawyer Stephane Babonneau in the courtroom before the start of a hearing during the appeal trial filed by Husamettin D., one of the 51 people convicted in her rape trial, at a courthouse in Nimes, France, 7 October 2025. REUTERS - ALEXANDRE DIMOU

According to his lawyer, Béatrice Zavarro, Pelicot has spent his time in prison writing prolifically.

“He has written novels, many poems and his biography – his life story,” she explained on Friday. “He wants to be read … to tell his side of the story.”

Publishers, however, appear less than eager. “For now, there is a lot of reluctance,” Zavarro acknowledged, suggesting that Pelicot’s notoriety is proving a formidable obstacle.

Dominique Pelicot found guilty, jailed for 20 years in historic French rape trial

Courage and determination

The original case saw a court in southern France hand down sentences of between three and 15 years to the other men involved.

The scale of the abuse – and the courage of Gisele Pelicot in speaking openly during the trial – turned her into an unexpected feminist icon in France.

Her dignity and determination throughout the proceedings won praise from campaigners and the public alike.

Gisele, now 72, is set to publish her own memoir next year.

Gisele Pelicot's daughter files sex abuse case against father

Entitled A Hymn to Life, the book will appear in 20 languages when it is released in January 2026 – a sign of the widespread interest her story has generated and her refusal to let the case define her.

Their daughter, Caroline Darian, has also spoken out. In 2022 she published Et j’ai cessé de t’appeler papa – published in English under the title "I'll never call you dad again" – a stark account of the family’s ordeal and her own allegations of sexual abuse against her father.

(with newswires)